Afternoon report: Cincy anchor apologizes; save the A.V. Club crossword; and more

Fox 19 in Cincinnati took news anchor Tricia Macke (left) off the air after she called Rachel Maddow “an angry young man.” She later apologized for her “insensitive and inappropriate” comments, and insisted “they do not reflect my firm beliefs in individual and equal rights.”

I asked longtime Cincinnati Enquirer TV/media/radio reporter John Kiesewetter about Macke’s reputation in his market. He responded:

From my view, the Maddow comments were totally out of character for Fox 19 anchor Tricia Macke. That’s definitely not what she’s known for in the Cincinnati market. I’d say she’s a respected TV journalist from her years at Fox 19, having joined the news team as a free-lancer from WCKY-AM when the news department was created in 1993 and worked her way up to main anchor in six years (1999).

She’s probably best known for her local personality/celebrity profiles/interviews, and being a mother of 5 children. Her oldest is Kaitlynn, 18, whom she adopted in 2005 after Tricia’s sister Beth died of cancer in 2005.

In my 25 years covering Cincinnati TV/radio, I’ve heard plenty of broadcast news people says plenty of stupid things. But she’s not one of them.